Wednesday, October 1, 2014

Beware of hypokinesis

I'd like to thank you for checking in with this chit-chat about my favorite sport. This week I'm excited because a small story I've written for third to eighth graders, and maybe also for older folks who like to run, has come to life. It's about the journey of a woman and her grandson who grow together as they train together and it's called Running Mates. You can find it on Amazon, in a few local outlets, and at my house.

I’ve been told that I do everything the hard way. Probably
true. In much of my life, I’m not all that efficient. I don’t know the short
cuts—the easy way to do lots of things. But that’s okay with me.In fact, I’m beginning to think I just may
like it that way.

It could be related to why I’ve run for a long time, and why
I’m still at it. There’s no arguing the point that running gets harder as the
years go by. More and more often I say to myself, especially while nearing the
end of a race when my body is protesting: “This is hard. Why am I doing this?

It has to do, I think, with “keep on keeping on” thinking. I
don’t much like the alternative. I like the satisfied feeling that comes with
doing a thing as well as it can be done.

John Jerome, the author of Elements of Effort, one of my favorite books about running, says:
“Aging is a disease of hypokinesis—the failure to move enough.” As we age, we
are sometimes tempted to look for convenience—for the easy way out. We may
avoid a flight of stairs in favor of the elevator, or decide to rearrange
things so they are within easier reach. Maybe we decide to let someone else cut
our grass, clean our house, or wash our windows.

If hypokinesis causes aging, then perhaps we should
reconsider taking it easy. Now I’m not suggesting that those who are aging—and
isn’t that all of us? go out and exhaust or injure ourselves on the ski slope,
steep mountain trail, or running track. Instead I like to imagine a challenge:
Finding some form of body movement that tickles our fancy, that for whatever
reason, we love to do so much that we will do it faithfully. It doesn’t have to
be easy, but it does have to be fun.

Doing a thing because we should,
because it’s good for our cardiovascular system, or our mental outlook, or to
maintain our weight, just won’t cut it over the long haul. We human beings seem
to respond best to that which brings us joy.

The fun comes, not because what we do is easy and pain free,
but, as John Jerome suggests, “Most of us, most of the time, have to have
something to push against…” Those of us who run, and I suspect anyone involved
with some form of physical activity, needs an adversary. Luckily for us
runners, there are plenty. Depending on the season and terrain, we struggle
with heat or cold, wind or rain, darkness and distance, hill ascents and step
downhill grades. And if none of them were there, we wouldn’t like it at all.

And then there’s the aftermath—a long hot shower or a soak
in the tub—a big fat pile of blueberry pancakes—stretching out near a warm fire
or in the sun for a read or a nap that has been earned.

It takes courage to commit to an on-going “spectator status”
in this life. It’s hard to live with knowledge that hypokinesis could catch up
with us at any moment.

About Me

I'm a writer and small time entrepreneur with a company called "oldBags." I create note cards, book marks and coasters incorporating used tea bags as tiny canvases for my work.
Blogging is an opportunity for me to share my writing and and "teabagging" projects.